Incarnate Word 23, A&M-Commerce 22
Location: Memorial Stadium • Commerce, Texas
Records: A&M-Commerce (0-5, 0-3, LSC); Incarnate Word (2-4, 2-2 LSC)
Up Next: at Tarleton State • Saturday, Oct. 15 • 7 p.m.
COMMERCE, Texas – After falling behind by 20 points early in the second quarter, A&M-Commerce roared back to take a 22-20 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Incarnate Word punches through a late field goal, handing the Lions a 23-22 loss at Memorial Stadium Saturday evening.
The Lions remain winless on the year, falling to 0-5 overall and 0-3 in Lone Star Conference play while Incarnate Word improves to 2-4 and 2-2 in LSC action. It is also the second-straight season the Cardinals have defeated the Lions by a single point.
"It is frustrating, and continues to get more frustrating," said head coach Guy Morriss following the game. "We played well enough to win, but just continued to make mistakes at critical times. We spotted them the early lead, and played inconsistent all night, and it caught up to us."
J.J. Harp, starting his first game at quarterback for the Lions, completed 25-of-45 passes for 250 yards with three interceptions. Senior Taylor Fore and junior Kevin Bevans each hauled in seven passes on the night with Fore racking up 89 yards and Bevans adding 71. Fore is now tied for 10th all-time in career receptions at A&M-Commerce with 99 in his career and is one shy of becoming the 10th player to reach 100 career receptions.
On the ground, Marcus Graham rushed for 54 yards on nine carries, including a key 41-yard touchdown scamper early in the fourth quarter to put the Lions on top. Harp also rushed for 15 yards on the night.
On paper, the game appeared about as even as the final score would indicate. The Cardinals finished with 333 yards on 72 offensive plays with the Lions tallying 331 yards on 66 plays. The Lions held the edge in passing yards (250 to 192) while the Cardinals outrushed the Lions 141 to 81.
Incarnate Word established its lead early as after A&M-Commerce went three and out on its opening possession, the Cardinals' Juan Asencio blocked the ensuing punt at the one yard line, falling on it in the endzone to give Incarnate Word the 7-0 lead just 56 seconds into the game.
After holding the Lions on their next drive, the Cardinals then went 70 yards in four plays, capped by a 60-yard touchdown pass from Paden Lynch to Jacob Love, putting Incarnate Word up 13-0 with 9:11 remaining in the opening quarter.
Incarnate Word would add to that lead early in the second as Lynch found Colton Palmer for a 10-yard score in the corner of the endzone as the Cardinals build a commanding 20-0 lead with 10:46 to go in the opening half.
A&M-Commerce got on the board off a 25-yard field goal from Jacob O'Neil with 6:12 left in the second quarter, trimming the Cardinals' halftime lead to 20-3.
In the third, the Lions began to string together its rally, beginning with a 71-yard interception return by Dre Dunbar with 6:49 remaining in the third, cutting the gap to 11 at 20-9 after a botched extra point attempt. Then it was time for the Lions' special team to repay the favor from the opening quarter as it was A&M-Commerce blocking the Incarnate Word punt as Aaron Wingfield returned it 32 yards, cutting the deficit to four at 20-16 as time expired in the third quarter.
With momentum on its side, the Lions shook off the early 20-point deficit with the 41-yard touchdown run by Graham with 11:51 remaining in the game, giving the Lions their first lead of the night at 22-20. But another botched snap on the extra point couldn't give A&M-Commerce a field-goal advantage.
The botched extra points would prove to be costly down the stretch as Incarnate Word drove the length of the field in the waning minutes, finding itself deep within the Lions' territory. The A&M-Commerce defense held strong, keeping the Cardinals out of the endzone, but Thomas Rebold kicked what would be the game-winning field goal with 1:20 remaining to put the Cardinals on top 23-22.
A&M-Commerce's final attempt at a win saw the Lions move the ball down the field as with six seconds left, the Lions were 45 yards from the endzone. But Harp's final pass to Graham wasn't meant to be as A&M-Commerce loses another heartbreaker.
Paden Lynch led Incarnate Word, completing 11 of 22 passes for 178 yards and the two touchdowns, while also throwing the pair of interceptions. Jacob Love caught six of those passes for 141 yards and a score while Trent Rios paced the Cardinal ground game, rushing for 66 yards on 26 carries.
With the first half of the season behind it, A&M-Commerce drops to 0-5 for the first time since 1926. The Lions remain in search of that elusive first victory, traveling to Stephenville next Saturday, October 15, to face Tarleton State at 7 p.m.
